Friday, April 24, 2009

As any of you who read my blog or know me know I am a huge fan of Saxelby Cheese mongers at the Essex Street Market here on the Lower East Side. So you can imagine how guilty I feel to have to admit that there is actually another cheese shop in the market a European style cheese and gourmet shop called Formaggio Essex a satellite of their Cambridge , MA. store.

They sell all sorts of good things and I highly recommend you check them out when next you are in or near the Essex Street market. What I discovered on a recent visit is that they sell in bulk Sherry Vinegar from Spain and Olive Oil from Sicily. It cost a dollar to buy the green glass small wine bottle to put it in , but after that all you have to do is take in your bottle and get refilled. I love this! I love that smart shop owners are selling in bulk and reducing the waste of always having to get a new container!

I'm sitting in my community garden right now enjoying the sun and having a glass of wine with my friend Craig. It was so cute, when I walked into the garden a family, mom, dad and three kids had set up chairs and were watching the tree trimmings cutting down big branches. Fascinated and totally focused on it like it was a performance, very lovely.

About Me

Urbanfoodguy aka Mark Owen Self taught cook with an environmental/political bent. 28 years of cooking experience. I live in Manhattan on the Lower East Side in an apartment with an amazing kitchen thanks to my partner of 21 + years, Neil. In the last 4 years I have focused more and more on food. It started at the same time as I was about to open up my import/retail business LaoLao Handmade. Over these years I have been a private chef, catering and 4 years of Food Styling. I've worked for most of the major food magazines such as : Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Real Simple, Oprah, Martha Stewart's Everyday Food and many more. Check out this site for some photos of my work. I've also worked in the prep kitchen for the Food Network with Bobby Flay and Paula Dean.